Swept Away
by Singe
Summary: --On Hiatus-- AU. Kurogane had waited all his life for the day he would be granted a shikigami. He just never expected it to arrive in the form of a loud blond idiot.
1. First

**Author's Note:** I really need to lay off the (possibly considered) crack writing. But I do these things mainly because the plot bunny refuses to leave…and in the end, they usually amuse me more then my more serious writing. But in this case, I like to think of it as more of an AU than a crack fic. There's a lot of background info in this thing, so if something doesn't quite make sense, let me know and I can try and clear it up for you.

Anyway, the opening of this is not as good as the original one I had written (and then was subsequently eaten by my computer), but it'll do.

This is my first Tsubasa fic, so any and all feedback is appreciated. Since there are a billion and one ways to spell the name of a certain mage, I'm just going to go with the one I prefer, and am going to basically avoid the whole mess with the whole real name thing...for now, at least.

Disclaimer: Author does not own anything (as far as rights and licensing goes) that has to do with the creations of CLAMP. Though she does have an unnaturally large collection of CLAMP merchandise, licensed items, and manga/anime. Not to mention the whole cosplay thing…

Title: Swept Away  
Chapter: First  
Rating: T  
Author: Singe

**O**0**O**0**O**0**O**

He should have expected it. Really, he should have known it was coming. Tomoyo-hime had been smiling all day, even more so than usual. Soma was doing her best to try to not appear amused whenever she saw him. As a result, he had been scowling in a way most others would claim unnecessary in the face of so much cheer. But Kurogane knew what those smiles and glances really meant.

They were up to something. Something involving him. Something they knew he wouldn't like but had been deemed necessary by Tomoyo-hime. And really, it could only have to do with one thing. The timing was too perfect to even consider it being a coincidence. Because tonight was the first full moon after Kurogane had become of age, and so, tonight would be the night he received his shikigami and became a true guardian of Tomoyo-hime.

For in the land of Nihon, one could train to become a shinobi all his life, but could never truly be a guardian until the gods and Tomoyo-hime herself had blessed him. It was in the form of shikigami that these blessings came. These beings, generally some type of powerful spirit or demigod, were granted primarily as aides and protectors to soldiers, though occasionally there arose a case where the one being blessed had nothing to do with fighting or tactics. Like that one friend of Tomoyo-hime, the one nowhere near the usual required age, who just so happened to have a small, irritable and winged stuffed animal…thing, that just so happened to turn into a large, winged, and angry golden cat whenever the girl was threatened.

In any case, tonight Kurogane would receive his shiki, one chosen specifically for him by Tomoyo-hime from the candidates supplied by the greater gods. It was a cause for celebration, the day he had been waiting all his life for, or so it seemed. The day he had been waiting for since he had returned home to find the mutilated bodies of his parents among the wreckage of the small border town in which he had been born. Kurogane was looking forward to the event, and had expected his princess and comrades to be happy for him. But the former was still too damn cheerful about the whole thing.

"Kurogane?" she asked softly, noticing her shinobi's wandering attention.

"What?" came the gruff reply.

"Is something troubling you? Worried about tonight, perhaps?" Not that she really needed to ask, seeing as how Tomoyo knew perfectly well she and Soma were making the man nervous, but she was never one to pass up a good chance to harass Kurogane. Especially when he was already this annoyed and she hadn't even _done_ anything yet…as far as he knew.

"No," he muttered darkly, "of course not."

In reply, all he got was a small, and in his mind, conniving, chuckle from the girl.

**O**0**O**0**O**0**O**

He would kill her. No, he would kill them both—Soma deserved it just as much as Tomoyo-hime, because she had known and had done absolutely nothing to stop this…this…. catastrophe from happening. It didn't matter that he had pledged his life to protect the seemingly frail and innocent princess last night. It didn't matter that he had known the other shinobi since they were children, or that the two had grown up and trained together for as long as he could remember. Because they were both responsible. And therefore, they both would have to pay.

"Woooow…what IS that?"

"A tree," he answered, after glancing at what his new "partner" was pointing and staring avidly at.

"…No, it's not."

"Yes, it is."

"Nuh uh."

"Why are you so stupid? Do they not have trees wherever the hell it is you things live before you're paired with a human?"

"Silly Kuro-tan, of course we have trees. And I," he paused to point at himself imperiously, "was not talking about the tree. Nyaah."

"Nyah? What the hell does that mean?"

"You know, like a kitty." The other then proceeded to make the noise again, which only perhaps resembled a cat if it were to be from some children's story...and the listener had partaken in a few too many cups of sake before hand.

Kurogane changed his mind. He would not simply kill them; he would make them suffer first. Suffer as much as he was going to have to for the rest of his life, or until his new Shikigami ended their contract. Which most likely, would not happen anytime soon judging by the joy that seemed to be radiating off the other and attempting, but failing, to penetrate the dark cloud of misery and irritation hanging over Kurogane's head.

"You aren't a cat," he muttered darkly and sent the other a look that would have terrified any enemy soldier, and had done so often in the past.

"I'm not right now," the blond man replied cheerfully, his smile only growing larger (if that was even possible), and then returned to his earlier question. "So, what kind of bird is that?"

"A hawk," Kurogane replied after glancing to find out what the other had been talking about. "It's some kind of messenger or shiki or something for one of Amatarasu's generals. I'm surprised you noticed it…"

"Shiki recognize shiki," came the enigmatic reply. "He's a lower level than I am—can't take human form—but he's still a shikigami." The blond-haired shiki stared at the other demigod for a moment, seemingly lost in thought, before suddenly grabbing Kurogane's arm and attempting to drag him along as he skipped.

"What are you normally?" the shinobi demanded and refused to move from his spot, wrenching his arm free of the other's grip. "When you aren't in human form."

"I already told you, Kuro-chi," the other replied happily, seemingly not put off by the threatening feeling emanating from the taller human.

"…A cat."

"Yes!"

Kurogane sighed. Of all the things he imagined his Shiki would be, he never would have thought he'd eternally be tied to a thin, blond, and perpetually annoying _cat_. Granted, he had yet to see the other's true form, seeing as how during the ceremony last night the being had appeared in the shape of a human and had done little more than bow slightly in respect to Tomoyo-hime and himself. As such, Kurogane did not realize just what he had unknowingly agreed to until this morning when he had been awakened by the excitable mass of energy known as "Fai" pouncing on him. Not that he would ever admit the event had happened to anyone. One did not simply sneak up or catch by surprise the shinobi Kurogane. It was not possible.

Sighing, he glanced at Fai, noting how the other was now happily prancing around the courtyard. How had someone like that have successfully snuck up on him? It just didn't make any---wait a minute. He turned his attention back to Fai, who was now apparently stalking a large gold and blue butterfly. Out of the corner of his eye, Kurogane had thought he has seen an unusual movement.

He had.

The otherwise normal appearing blond man now had a pair of cat ears in addition to his more normal human ears. They sat on top of his head, blending in with the flaxen hair, and only made noticeable by their slight twitching as the owner of the ears stalked his prey. Kurogane had heard about things like this before, of course: shikigami who could move at will between one form and another, picking and choosing the traits they wanted their physical body to display. But it was uncommon. The shikigami who were capable of it were rare, powerful, and in battle, deadly. There had only been one of these shiki ever to be a Healer type (as far as anyone knew)…and that had been generations ago. Every other one had been apparently intended for battle: vicious, deadly, and loyal to a fault. All of which were traits most common in the Fighter types of shikigami. But from what he had seen, none of these traits were apparent in his new shiki. So, just what the hell was the blond nuisance really?

"Hyuu!" The other interrupted the shinobi's thoughts with his delighted cry and then proceeded to prance over to his owner to happily display his captured prey. Kurogane almost instantly forgot the train of thought he had been on and resumed planning the payback he owed to both his princess and his comrade. Both of which, as he was currently unaware, were watching the events unfold between the shinobi and shikigami thanks to a special divining mirror owned by the princess, who—hypothetically speaking, of course—occasionally used the sacred device for personal affairs.

"Tomoyo-hime," Soma said cautiously, watching the amused smile barely concealed on the face of the younger girl, "may I ask as to why you…decided on this particular shikigami for Kurogane-san? I know you have your reasons…but as I have said since I met this so-called 'Fai,' I am not so certain as to what those reasons are."

The smile of the younger grew even more cheerful as she turned to look at her female guardian. "You know, there are shikigami who are capable of becoming bonded to a human that never do."

"Excuse me, hime?"

"You see, Soma, there are some demigods who simply are not compatible with humans, and therefore cannot be bonded to them, even if they were to wish to do so. But there are also those that are entirely capable of it, but can never quite bring themselves to forge such a bond. Which is unusual, to say the least. Just as it is a rite of passage for shinobi, it is one for the demigods as well. And that is why, whenever a human who is able to connect with the gods comes of age, there are always so many of the demigods that present themselves in hopes of being selected. With the nearly immortal lives of the gods, it is possible for a demigod to wait decades, or centuries—if not more—to be selected."

"And the one you and the higher gods decided upon for Kurogane-san is one of these? Was he selected because he has waited so long?"

"Oh no," the priestess turned her and attention back to the mirror, absent-mindedly watching her new guardian attempting to kill a butterfly with a katana. "I had never seen him before that initial meeting, unlike almost all the other candidates. And he is not some new born god…despite his appearance, the soul in that form," she gestured to the mirror at the laughing figure easily dodging swings of a blade, "is far older than I think even I can imagine."

"Then…why?"

"Because it seemed right, as if the two of them would just…fit, regardless of anything else. It was almost like…he had been waiting, but not in vain like the other demigods. Almost as if…he knew when it would be his time to be selected and didn't bother to wait in vain until then."

"Tomoyo-hime, that is…it seems you made the choice based on faith and a whim…and then that the higher gods simply went along with your decision. You know Kurogane-san will expect more of an answer." Soma, like all trained soldiers, no matter their title, was weary of emotional decisions. And the risk her princess had taken by selecting a shikigami—whose name had not even been recognized by her own shiki—by such a means, especially for a shinobi such as Kurogane who was powerful enough by himself, seemed extremely dangerous.

"Yes, I suppose he will. But really, all I can tell him truthfully was that it was faith and a feeling. But really, is that so bad? An alliance formed with any shikigami is one of both trust and faith. A person does not simply accept someone into their life just because they met on a street. We are too distrusting of other humans for that. And yet…a select few are able, are willing to simply accept some strange being into every aspect of their existence, a being more powerful and perhaps more conniving than any man. You yourself are bonded to a demigod, are you not? And what has allowed you to have that bond? Trust? Faith? They are really both the same in the end."

"My trust was in you," the darker skinned of the two answered after a moment, still feeling uneasy over the new situation for her comrade, despite her initial amusement with it after having met the blond shiki.

"As was his." Tomoyo replied gently. After this, there was silence between the two for a time, as they were both absorbed in watching the unlikely pair they were discussing. The blond had somehow ended up in the upper branches of a large tree in one of the courtyards. He himself had apparently forgotten how he had gotten there, if the conversation with his new human was anything to go by. Said human was of course yelling at him to cut it out, climb down, or be left behind. He seemed to believe the blond was joking…and judging by the large smile plastered across the latter's face, the belief was entirely justified. So he turned to leave. The blond attempted to regain the shinobi's attention, but in doing so managed to lose his balance. And so, the lithe demigod proceeded to fall out of the tree, his arms still flailing.

Neither Soma or Tomoyo were able to contain a wince as it was proven that while cats may always land on their feet, feline shikigami were not quite as lucky. Well, at least not this one.

"Well…" the female guardian began to say a few moments after watching the newest addition to the court being dragged to his feet by his partner and then subsequently berated, "if nothing else he certainly livens things up."

"I think they'll be good for each other," Tomoyo-hime responded cheerfully and then decided she should perhaps perform some of her expected duties instead of watching the torment of her male guardian. Really, the boy still had so much to learn…and she was already certain the blond would be more than able to help her teach, whether or not he was aware of it.

**O**0**O**0**O**0**O**

**Ending Note**: In all honesty, when I started writing this, the plan was to do a humorous one shot about Kurogane being eternally stuck with a certain genki shikigami, perhaps with a slightly more Death Note-esque plot and/or background. And then the damn thing got away from me. So there may be more or this may be it. I do have a plot in mind, but I would like to have some reader input on whether or not it would be worth the effort or if there would even be interest…

So, please leave a comment/review/critique/suggestion so I can get some sort of idea.

In any case, thanks for reading!


	2. Second

**Author's Note**: Here's some more AU crack with a hint of plot for all of you lovely reviewers.

I attempted to do some background research of the various prefectures and whatnot of Japan during the period in which places such as Kurogane's Suwa actually existed. And not being able to find much (at least in the places I looked), I realized, hey, it's CLAMP…I'll just do what I feel like and it won't make much of a difference since they aren't exactly particular when it comes to certain things.

There is a line in this chapter that may be considered offensive to some regarding abuse, and it is one that I left in here very reluctantly. The only reason it was not removed right after it was written was because it sounded like something outlandish enough to come from Fai. If the phrasing offends anyone, please let me know and I will remove that section.

Now that that's out of the way…

Disclaimer: CLAMP owns my soul, not vice versa. Therefore, I own none of the characters/places/etc. in this. Boo.

Random note: I wrote a lot of this while listening to the amazing band The Spill Canvas, specifically their new album _No Really, I'm Fine_. In either case, check out their song "All Over You" as it has become my official anthem for the whole Ashura/Fai/Kurogane triangle that exists in my head.

…Plus I just really love the band.

Title: Swept Away  
Chapter: Second  
Rating: T  
Author: Singe

**O**0**O**0**O**0**O**

This one was different. It was a thought that had struck Fai the moment he had been alerted to the fact Tomoyo-hime was seeking a shikigami for a new guardian. He had been unable to ignore the lure, the pull he had felt deep within himself to apply for the position, which was unusual in its own right: Fai had not wanted to descend once again to the mortal world. Not after what had happened the last time around.

For you see, unlike what the humans believed, the demigods did not simply attach themselves to one human, protect that one for as long as he or she lived, and then somehow become a full god. No, it was much more complicated than that, and it more often than not required protecting more than one human throughout their lives, resulting in a demigod returning to their home realm after serving one man until his death only to immediately leave again in an attempt at becoming a shikigami for another. Not to mention that it was technically possible to be connected to several humans at the same time, depending on the circumstances and the ability level of the demigod involved.

But Fai did not want to think about those circumstances, not right now. Not while he was currently completing the complicated, time consuming task of trying to legally change his new master's name. Because really, "Kuro-tan fluffy-puppy the fourth" was so much more fun to say than just plain "Kurogane." It really was a shame that most of the officials he had talked to had seemed too terrified of the infamous shinobi to do much more than give Fai a disturbed look and an outright refusal to do such a thing.

So now he had gone to the one person who might complete his self-created and appointed mission: Tomoyo-hime.

"You have to admit, it does fit him…" the princess said lightly and amusedly, watching the growing look of abject horror on the face of her female guardian.

"Tomoyo-hime, how could you even consider changing such a thing? A name is a very personal thing…to just change Kurogane's when he himself has no say in it…I don't think he would be very pleased." Soma said carefully, not entirely comfortable with this level of harassment of the male shinobi presented by the blond. Besides, since when had Kurogane ever been even remotely fluffy?

"Kuro-chii is never pleased!" Fai declared happily, practically bouncing in place as he sensed Tomoyo's consideration of the issue. Honestly, what would be wrong with getting a new name? It was like the perfect birthday present, a present Fai himself would kill to receive for himself some days. Granted, he didn't know when his human's birthday actually was, but it was the thought that counted, right?

His comment had drawn a giggle out of the princess and a small, concealed smile from the female shinobi. He had been in the human world for a few weeks now and had quickly learned how to deal with each member of the court that he saw on a regular basis, though dealing with Kurogane was still a little strained. Especially since the man insisted he bathe like a human, not like his feline form. Honestly, what was wrong with a tongue bath? Though maybe he shouldn't have offered to give the human one, since the dark haired man had glared at him and then started yelling furiously about something. Fai had been paying more attention to cleaning his paws—or "hands" as the humans liked to call them when he was in this form— than the other man, so he couldn't say for sure what the other found so disturbing.

Humans were such weird creatures: his last one hadn't minded the offer in the slightest.

As he had been musing over the other incidents involving Kurogane, Amaterasu had entered in the throne room where the three were talking and silently moved to stand next to her younger sister.

"Tomoyo, may I make a request of you?" she asked without preamble, habitually ignoring the others present in the room.

"Certainly, what is it that you need?"

"For you to dream, and then to tell me what might happen if we make a preemptory attack against the enemy to protect the borderlands. We're hoping it will be enough of a warning to get the more intelligent ones to stand down."

The country of Nihon had been battling on and off for years several of their neighboring countries about where exactly the borders of each lay. The conflict had escalated recently due to the discovery of precious minerals not far into the southern borders of Nihon, and several attempts had already been made on the lives of both Amaterasu and Tomoyo-hime. So it was really no surprise that Amaterasu had decided to take care of the situation personally.

"Of course," Tomoyo rose gracefully from her seat and turned to Fai. "For now, let's leave the matter alone. Call Kurogane what you wish to, but it will be best to leave his legal name alone for now," she said with a soft smile and then turned to depart to her chambers, Soma following close behind.

"She's a yumemi?" Fai curiously asked the longhaired woman who remained standing next to her sister's now unoccupied chair, though he already suspected the answer.

"Yes," she answered, now watching him closely. "And you are Kurogane's new shikigami?"

"Yes!" he answered cheerfully, "but sometimes it really doesn't feel like it since he never lets me do anything and whenever he fights he just tells me to stay out of it. Well, that, or I'm the person he's attacking…"

"It's a rather abusive relationship, then,"

"Only on his part!" Fai sounded happier than he should when making the statement. There was a pause and then he clapped his hands loudly in front of him and looked as if a brilliant thought had just occurred to him. "That's it! I can tell the people at the records office that I'm his wife and that if I don't get his name changed like he told me to, then he'll hit me again!"

He looked positively thrilled about pretending to be in such a horrendous situation, and as such she made the decision not to mention that Kurogane was as infamous for never letting people get close to him as he was for his short temper. Because of this reputation, whichever official the blond told the story to would know immediately it was a lie.

"Do I dare ask why you want to change his name?" Amaterasu asked instead, showing no signs of her amusement with the situation beyond the tone of her voice. She had made little to no contact with the blond in the time he had been in Nihon owing to the ongoing border conflicts, but now that she had a minute to spare to speak with him, she was becoming distinctly bemused by her younger sister's passive harassment of the overconfident shinobi. Just as the seemingly young man opened his mouth to present what was likely a very touching and logical explanation, the throne room door opened again and a dark haired man walked quickly into the room, the hawk shikigami that Fai had seen in the courtyard perched serenely on one of shoulders.

"Amaterasu-sama, your presence is needed." Despite his determined stride, he spoke lazily in a deep voice while his eyes scanned the room unhurriedly. That is, until they landed on Fai and the look became far more calculating.

The woman acknowledged his comment with a slight tilt of her head and then gracefully moved to leave the room. The amber-eyed man fell into step behind her, making no direct acknowledgement of Fai. The eyes of his hawk shikigami, however, never wavered from their gaze on the pale man until it was carried out of the room.

Fai did not appreciate the unsettling feeling beginning to settle in his stomach. No, he did not appreciate it at all.

**O**0**O**0**O**0**O**

On the other side of the palace, Kurogane was blissfully unaware of the plot against his name and had taken it into his own hands to prove to the newest class of potential ninjas just how far away from the position they actually were. Honestly, you would think by now at least some of the new recruits would be intelligent enough not to directly challenge him.

He vaguely wondered just how many of them he would have to beat into the ground before this batch got the message.

It didn't help any of the recruits that his life had suddenly become far more stressful. Not only had he recently achieved a higher level, more demanding position as a guardian, but with his new title of guardian to Tomoyo-hime had come something of an addition to his household. That is, if one can consider a loud, overly cheerful cat demigod an addition to a household and not just a pest. That demigod had somewhere in the last week or so discovered his liquor cabinet…and in doing so, increased Kurogane's stress levels exponentially. So perhaps he was being too cruel to the new recruits, but really, who could blame him? It was either take some frustration out on these low level trainees or commit homicide.

The man—and that term was being generous, the guy couldn't have been a day over fifteen—he was fighting noticed Kurogane's wandering mind and made a desperate thrust with a wooden practice sword, hoping to be the one to finally land a blow against the upper level shinobi. Without thought, Kurogane moved to counter the sloppy attack, only to find it was not necessary, as his opponent's sword seemed to have struck something invisible and become wedged into whatever the invisible thing was. The boy began attempting to pull his sword free, but was unable to do much more than wiggle the sword in place.

"What the hell? What happened?" the recruits muttered among themselves, while Kurogane gave an irritated huff.

"That really wasn't necessary, stupid cat," he growled, shifting the practice sword so that the wooden blade rested against his shoulder.

"But I just saved your life, Kuro-tan!" a thin blond man declared as he pranced across the practice field to stand next to his owner. "You should appreciate all the effort I put into taking care of you!"

"You're interrupting training. Go away," came the gruff reply.

"Aw, but I'm so booorred." Fai whined and then latched onto the arm of the shinobi that was not holding a weapon. Kurogane made the executive decision to ignore the blond who was clinging on to him and pouting. Instead, he focused on glaring at the few recruits who dared to find amusement at his expense. Needless to say, the situation became far less entertaining under the deadly gaze of their superior.

"Go back to doing whatever it was you were doing before you decided to come hassle me," Kurogane demanded angrily before he realized that he had no idea what the shikigami had been doing all day.

"But they kicked me out of the office _and_ told me not to come back," the blond replied in the same whining tone that Kurogane had quickly become familiar with.

After analyzing that comment, he decided he would rather not know what his shiki had been up to while he had been attempting to beat some training into the recruits. It was probably a wise decision, for if he had known he would have had no choice but to take out what remained of his frustration on its source. Experience also taught him that the blond would likely not be going anywhere for a while, so he gruffly ordered the gawking trainees to pair off and start sparing so that they might eventually be worth the time he was wasting on them.

He stood and glared until the soldiers did as ordered before walking between the pairs to offer criticism and commentary of the somewhat poorly coordinated fights. Really, this is the best that were enrolling now? The border conflicts really were beginning to take their toll, he mused as he continued to ignore the cat clinging to his shoulder. He had grown used to his shiki's abrupt shifts in form, so the shorter man suddenly becoming a pale golden feline had been no surprise to him, though it apparently managed to distract his men from training…again.

"Alright, that's it," he growled and forcefully lifted the cat from its perch on his shoulder by the nape of its neck and held it so that he could glare at the smaller being face to face. "Go find someone else to harass. Now."

His tone and glare would have been intimidating, if it weren't for the fact he was glaring down a cat; a cat who seemed to not even notice his presence and had begun to yawn cutely.

"Don't you dare try to pull that, you idiot," Kurogane said threateningly. "You and I both know you can still understand me when you're a cat. Hell, you can talk, you bastard."

"Have you fallen so far that you've been reduced to threatening animals, Kurogane-kun?" a smooth voice interrupted his diatribe and caused the trainees to entirely stop their futile attempts at sparring. They took one look at the owner of the voice and immediately snapped to attention.

Kurogane, on the other hand, simply turned to focus his glare on the new arrival, still dangling the feline Fai at eye level. "What the hell do you want, Sakurazuka?" he snarled at the older man, one of Amaterasu's generals.

"Oh, many things," the amber eyes man answered genially. "But none of them are your concern, I'm afraid."

"Then why are you here?"

"Am I not allowed to walk through the training grounds anymore? In any case, one might ask you the same thing. As your new title suggests, one would think a guardian would be in the vicinity of the one he is supposed to protect. Or are these new recruits more important to you than Tomoyo-hime?"

"Well, if you have enough time to just walk through the grounds, you could train them yourself. At least that way one of us would be able to go do his job."

The verbal sparring taking place between his master and the man he had seen earlier in the throne room surprised Fai; it was unlike Kuro-pon to do anything but threaten his opponent in an argument. Whoever this guy was—a general, he recalled Kurogane calling the owner of the hawk shiki—he severely irritated Fai's owner in a manner that was entirely not fun, though the older human was apparently enjoying needling the shinobi. So, having decided his Kuro-woof needed some comforting as well as some back up, Fai used the distraction caused by the new arrival to free himself from the painless grip on the back of his neck. He then quickly and gracefully climbed to a perch on top of Kurogane's head. Once there, he proceeded, to circle around a few times before curling into a ball and purring loudly.

As with most things Fai did, his choice of pillow ruined the threatening atmosphere surrounding Kurogane, as it is rather hard to remain intimidating when one has a cat napping on the top of your head.

Realizing this, Kurogane sighed and began to rub violently at his temples, hoping to get rid of the headache rapidly building due to both his former commander and his current…partner? pet? pain in the ass?...well, the being who possessed the audacity to try and take a nap on him, in any case. He really would kill the feline one of these days, even if the idiot really was some kind of demigod. His reputation could not take much more of the abuse that the blond was causing.

As he reached to dislodge his shiki from his hair, he felt the distinct feeling of claws digging lightly into his scalp in warning. Well, so much for that idea. If Kurogane wasted to keep his hair, the cat was going to be keeping his current position.

Seishirou and the other occupants of the training ground watched amusedly as the male guardian began to mutter under his breath angrily and stomped away from the field without acknowledging anyone. The trainees glanced at one another, shrugged, and also began to leave, having assumed their training session was over, seeing as their instructor had just stormed off. They were stopped however, by the chilling voice of Sakurazuka Seishirou.

"And just where are you going?" he spoke without looking at them, his eyes still focused on the back of the retreating shinobi. After a moment, he turned to face them, a cold smile appearing on his face as his gaze landed on them. "After all, your teacher just told you I was his replacement, did he not?"

None of them answered the question. They all may have been fairly inept, but none of them were stupid enough to directly address someone as high ranking and as infamously cruel as the general Sakurazuka.

_Those poor children_, a hawk gliding in lazy circles overhead thought with amusement as he watched his master, _and they had thought their other teacher was bad._

**O**0**O**0**O**0**O**

**Ending note**: I really debated with myself whether or not to add more chapters to this story, but as you can see, I'm going to attempt to make a full story out of it.

This chapter was a little slow, but some of the stuff that shows up here will be important in the future and some of it—admittedly— is just me writing crack...like the whole kitty!Fai scene. Never intended that to happen, and then it just did instead of me actually adding to the plot. But I'm guessing you guys are probably okay with that, as it allowed me a semi-decent place to end the chapter.

So, you should really let me know what you think about where this is going, or any other thoughts or comments you have, with that lovely review button.


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